[MAP OF EARLY POLITICAL PROPAGANDA / BANNED MAPS / “IT WAS DRAWN TO BE CARVED ON THE TOMBSTONE OF THAT CRUEL AND TREACHEROUS RULER”] Avrupa-yi Osmânî: Ottoman Europe: It is a map showing the disintegration that the Holy Homeland...

MURAD, MIZANCI (1853-1912), Mizan Newspaper, Paris, 1897.

COMPLETE TITLE:  [MAP OF EARLY POLITICAL PROPAGANDA / BANNED MAPS / “IT WAS DRAWN TO BE CARVED ON THE TOMBSTONE OF THAT CRUEL AND TREACHEROUS RULER”] Avrupa-yi Osmânî: Cülûs-i menhus Abdülhamid-i Sânî devri Vatan-i Muazzez'in düçâr oldugu inkisâmi ve ayrilan vatanperverleri gösterir haritadir, ki o hükümdar zâlîm ve ha’inin mezarinda tasina -1314- hakkedilmek için resmolunmusdur, 1897. [i.e., Ottoman Europe: It is a map showing the disintegration that the Holy Homeland fell into during the ill-fated rule of Abdulhamid-i Sani and the secessionist patriot places, it was drawn to be carved on the tombstone of that cruel and treacherous ruler].

Original lithograph b/w map. 48 x 33 cm. In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). Slight creasing on the paper, otherwise, a fine map.

Extremely rare, clandestinely distributed and banned lithograph map showing the disintegrated countries and areas in Europe from the Imperial Ottoman printed and distributed to the readers as the first supplement material of the Mizan Newspaper in Paris which was a dissident organ of the Committee of Union and Progress against the tyranny of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II.

The map shows European lands being part of the empire and the dissolution of the Imperial Ottoman in the late 19^th century and the Crete in a separate panel on the lower right of the map. And early “moon and crescent” symbol located upper side of the map’s title on the lower left of the map. Text (also title of the map) in the panel criticizes the tyranny of the Sultan’s European and international policy. It reveals that the lands shown on the map were lost during his rule such as Wallachia, Moldavia, Dobruja, the complete Danube Province, Eastern Rumelia (Bulgaria), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Thessaly, The Cretan Province, and others. The text used interesting, powerful, and sharp-tongued anti-propaganda language on the panel, and it was distributed to the readers as the first supplement apparently between 14 December 1896 and 3 May 1897, when the paper was restarted to publish in Paris after it was banned by the Ottoman government due to its critical approach towards the government officials.

ON MIZAN:

Mizan [i.e., Balance] was an Ottoman newspaper that existed in the period 1886–1909 with some interruptions. The paper was published in different cities, including Istanbul, Cairo, Paris, and Geneva. It was one of the official media outlets of the Committee of Union and Progress.

Mizan was launched by Mehmed Murad in Istanbul in 1886 as a weekly newspaper. Due to the popularity of the paper, he became known as Mizanci Murad who was one of the leaders of Young Turks.

The first issue of Mizan appeared on 21 August 1886, and the paper was based in Istanbul until 11 December 1890. It was banned by the Ottoman government due to its critical approach towards government officials. After six-year hiatus, Mizan was restarted in Cairo on 21 January 1896. The Ottoman Sultan asked Khedive Abbas Hilmi to arrest Mizanci Murad and to close down Mizan. Although the demands of the Sultan were rejected, the paper could stay in Egypt only until 8 July 1896. In Cairo, Mizan was published by the Committee of Union and Progress weekly on Thursdays. The license of the paper was held by Mehmed Murat Enveri, and the managers were Abdullah Ilmi and Dr. Lutfi.

The paper was restarted in Paris and published there between 14 December 1896 and 3 May 1897. Next, it appeared in Geneva between 10 May and 19 July 1897. It was relaunched on 30 July 1908 in Istanbul, but it ceased publication with the last issue dated 14 April 1909. The reason for its closure was the arrest of Mizanci Murad who was sent to exile due to his alleged role in the coup against the Committee of Union and Progress in 1909.

Mizan adopted a critical approach towards the Ottoman Sultan and grand viziers which led to Mizanci Murad's exile in different countries and to the publication of the paper in different cities. While being published in Cairo, the paper was financed by Khedive Abbas Hilmi and had higher circulation levels both in Istanbul and Yemen.

MIZANCI MURAD:

He was an Ottoman monarchist, democrat, historian, and politician, who was renowned for his work on reviving the concept of Ottomanism during the Second Constitutional Era.

Mizanci Murad [or Murat] was born in Tbilisi in 1853. He received an education in Russia. Following his graduation, he worked as a lecturer at Istanbul University. He was a member of the Young Turks and had a pan-Islamist political stance. In 1886 he launched a newspaper entitled Mizan. Due to his alleged role in the coup against the Committee of Union and Progress in 1909, Mizanci Murad was sent to exile. He returned to Istanbul later but retired from politics, and he died in 1912. (Wikipedia).

We can’t trace any copies of this rare map in the OCLC, KVK, and the Turkish National Library. It’s also exceedingly rare and not seen before both in the market and auction records.